The Origin Story Theory That Has Fans Giving Sweet Tooth A Second Look
The Netflix series "Sweet Tooth" centers on a post-apocalyptic vision of the world 10 years after an event called "The Great Crumble." Civilization as we know it fell in the wake of a deadly virus, which also saw the rise of human-animal hybrids being born. Uncertain as to whether or not they were the cause or simply a result of the virus, hybrids are treated with suspicion at best and outright violence at worst. An unlikely pair of wanderers, the deer-human hybrid Gus (Christian Convery) and the mysterious Tommy Jepperd (Nonso Anozie) wander this strange new world, seeking answers. The series is based on the best-selling comic book series written and illustrated by Jeff Lemire and published by DC Comics, which has received critical acclaim, and its recent release to the world of streaming has been equally well-received.
But with a new audience comes a new wave of fan speculation from those not familiar with the original source material, and sometimes the fan theories that people come up with can take what appears onscreen and make some very interesting connections.
An unexpected prequel?
In a recent Reddit post, user Hey_Steve77 made some decidedly interesting connections between the world of "Sweet Tooth" and another animal-themed franchise. "I have started watching this and noticed that one of the bad guys looks like Dr Robotnik from Sonic the Hedgehog," they wrote. "This along with the fact that the story is about human/animal hybrids made me wonder if anyone was talking about this possibly being a Sonic origins story. I'm sure it isn't supposed to be, but I figured it would be fun to talk about the connections."
"Sonic the Hedgehog" does feature human-animal hybrids (and a human who wants to capture them for nefarious purposes), so the parallels are interesting, though the recent 2020 film posits that Sonic comes from a distant planet rather than a post-apocalyptic Earth. Other users were quick to point out "Sweet Tooth's" origins in other media: "If it weren't for the fact it's based on a comic I'd say you're onto something," wrote fellow Redditor pacmain1.
The fun of fan speculation
While "Sweet Tooth" is not at all related to Sega's most famous speedster, fan speculation like this is part of the fun when a new piece of media debuts. People are fond of seeing patterns and creating connections in a favorite franchise, and if they can find ways to tie it in with other properties or link it in some way to the lore of other universes, so much the better. Sometimes these connections are even deliberate, such as when "Star Trek" sneaks in a reference to Yoyodyne Propulsion from "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai," or "Doctor Who" makes a callback to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
There are also times when these connections develop organically, as fans find ways to tie one property to another in ways unintended by the creators, making for fun discussions. While such theories might be easily debunked, it does create some intriguing speculation that can be highly amusing.